


It Was Second Grade

by paper_aircrafts



Series: It Was... [1]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: M/M, kids being kids™
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 01:50:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12830796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paper_aircrafts/pseuds/paper_aircrafts
Summary: “Look at this,” Evan whispered. Evan pointed at Ms.G, then stuck his tongue out, and twirled both of his fingers around his head, as a symbol for ‘crazy,’while crossing his eyes.Connor covered his mouth with his hand, muffling his laughs.Connor glanced at the printer, then looked back at Evan. Deciding that Evan’s method was the better choice to making him feel better, he joined in on mocking their teacher.





	It Was Second Grade

It was in second grade.

“Ms.G, it's actually my turn, Susan goes after me,” Connor said trying to keep calm. He didn't want to get in trouble with his mom and dad again, already having been yelled at earlier this week.

“No, it's not, Connor's lying!” Susan claimed, pointing her finger and pouting. Connor hates Susan, she was such brat, and loved getting Connor in trouble for no reason.

Connor stomped his foot and crossed his arms around his chest defensively. He was trying real hard not to yell, but Connor really hated Susan.

“No I'm not! Susan’s lying!” He sort of yelled.

Ms.G finally steps in and of course she takes Susan’s side. Connor hates Ms.G too, because Ms.G hates him. She's always calling Connor out when he's distracted, but never calls on him when he tries to raise his hand. She scolds him for “misbehaving,” even if another kid did the exact same thing! And, she never punishes anyone who picks on Connor, but Connor can't even defend himself without getting in trouble, it's so unfair!

“Connor,” she starts sternly, “I have told you how I feel about lying-”

“But I'm not-

“I don't want to hear it. I am tired of you picking fights with your classmates-”

“She started it-”

“I said I don't want to hear it, Mr.Murphy. You will not be the line leader until you learn how to act, now go to the back of the line,” She finished, a few kids snickering when she did (Jared was probably one of them. Connor hates him too).

Connor held his head down and balled up his fists. She knows that it's Connor's turn to be the line leader, Connor knows she does, Ms.G just doesn't like him. None of these teachers do, Connor hates all of their guts. It's not fair. He makes a few mistakes, he loses his temper a couple of times, and suddenly he's “The Bad Kid,” spoiled, scary, crazy. They don't know him. They don't know how hard he tries to be good, they don't even care. It's not fair.

Connor wants to scream, or hit something, or cry. He wants to- to throw something.

He looks around the room and his eyes land on the printer sitting on the edge of Ms.G’s desk. If he tries hard enough, he could probably push it off. It's big and it'll make a lot of noise, perfect for showing his frustration.

He walks towards the desk, his teacher’s back is turned as she's going down the line of students, making them recite the rules of the art room before they can leave for it. The words "not fair" play on repeat in his head as he starts reaching out for the machine.

He barely touches it before stopping when he feels someone tap on his shoulder. He huffed and folded his arms over his chest again, knowing it was probably a student about to tattle on him.

He turned around sharply, but unfolded his arms once he saw who it was, his best (and only) friend Evan.

Connor didn't really get to talk to Evan in class that much. Whenever he tried to whisper in class, Ms.G called him out instantly, and during their free time in class, Connor was usually in the time-out corner, since Ms.G typically found a way to get Connor in trouble for some reason or another. Evan had tried to talk to Connor while Connor was in the time-out corner once, but Ms.G called him out for it loudly, in front of the whole class, which made Evan burst out in tears, sobbing so hard that he was sent to the counselor’s office. He didn't try again after that. Some days, Connor would make silly faces at Evan from the corner- when Ms.G wasn't looking, of course- to make him laugh. Sometimes, Evan drew him pictures and snuck them over to Connor, so Connor wouldn't feel lonely. Connor kept a lot of the pictures.

Anyway, Connor paused in his attempt to express his rage, in favor of listening to what his friend had to say.

“Look at this,” Evan whispered. Evan pointed at Ms.G, then stuck his tongue out, and twirled both of his fingers around his head, as a symbol for ‘crazy,’while crossing his eyes.

Connor covered his mouth with his hand, muffling his laughs. 

Connor glanced at the printer, then looked back at Evan. Deciding that Evan’s method was the better choice to making him feel better, he joined in on mocking their teacher.

“Hey Ev, look at this,” Connor whispered excitedly. He made his arms into a wing shape, and hopped lightly on his feet, alternating between making chicken noises and sticking out his tongue.

Evan began shaking with laughter, he also covered his mouth in an attempt to quiet it.

“I'm Ms.G,” Connor croaked mockingly, causing his friend to laugh harder, his face going red.

The boys stood there, laughing with each other, big smiles adorning both of their faces. Connor was feeling significantly better.

So of course Jared Butthead had to go and ruin it.

“Ms.G,” he whined, “Connor is making faces at you behind your back,” he tattled.

The teacher turned around, already glaring at Connor, “I told you to get in the back of the line,” she sighed, tapping her foot, and pinching the bridge of her nose.

Connor crossed his arms over his chest, once again, and glared at Jared. He didn't say anything, he just stood there, making it clear that he had no plans of moving to the back of the line. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evan give him a nervous glance.

“You know what, that's it,” Ms.G said with a tone of finality. She marched over to Connor, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him over to the front of the room, headed for the button on the wall that's used to contact the main office.

Connor rolled his eyes. So much for not getting in trouble.

Though, before Ms.G pushed the button, Evan loudly spoke up, stopping the teacher in her tracks.

“W-wait, Ms.G, I-I, um, I was ma- making faces too,” Evan said, swallowing hard.

Ms.G blinked, taken aback, and the same can be said for Connor. Evan had never spoken out so confidently in class before- he hardly speaks at all- and though he looked and sounded like he was on the verge of tears, it was still quite the breakthrough.

After Ms.G gained back her ability to speak, she said, “Evan, I know Connor is your friend, but you shouldn't lie just to-”

“B-but I’m- I’m n-not lying. I, um, I m-mocked you t-too, a-and not just- not just because I'm C-Connor's best friend. I-It's b-because I- I don't like you v-v-very much be-because I think y-you are, uh, I th-think you are very r-rude,” Evan finished, a bit breathlessly, choking out those last few words.

Evan visibly shrunk in on himself when the room filled with gasps and long “ooo’s” from his classmates. Evan looked at Connor, who wore a shocked, but large smile on his face, looking at Evan with adoration in his eyes. Evan tensed a little bit less upon seeing his friend’s reaction.

However, he tensed right back up when he made eye contact with Ms.G. Her mouth was agape, and she held a confused yet furious expression.

“Evan, you can join Connor in the front of the class, now,” She all but barked.

Evan hurried to the front of the class, with his head down, and stood as close as he possibly could to Connor. Connor placed a hand on Evan’s shoulder, knowing he was probably really upset by being called out in front of the class.

Ms.G buzzed in the office, requesting that someone escort some “ill mannered students to the principal's office, because they will not be allowed to participate in the activities in the art room.”

As they waited for, most likely, a security guard to come to the class to take Connor and Evan to the office, Ms.G filled out the behavioral slip that would be given to the assistant principal, Mrs.Fletcher, telling her what the kids were in trouble for.

Once the security guard, Harvey, arrived at the classroom, he simply held open the door, saying a soft “C’mon boys,” as he nodded his head towards the hallway.

Connor grabbed Evan’s hand as they left the classroom. He was glad Harvey was the one who came. Connor had been sent to the office more than a few times, and Harvey was always so chill about having to take Connor there. Sometimes he would tell Connor stories about how he would get into trouble when he was younger. Other times, he would just whistle or hum a song on the walk there, and give Connor a comforting and reassuring pat on the head before leaving him in the office.

Today he was whistling a song Connor hadn't heard before, walking behind the pair as Connor lead Evan to the office, still holding his hand.

Connor turned to look at Evan, and when he did, he saw Evan wiping at his eyes with his free hand, his shoulders shaking.

“Hey Ev, that was really cool, you saying all that stuff, you know?” Connor tried softly.

Evan just shrugged, sniffing and wiping at his face.

Connor sighed, he hated seeing his friend so sad. Stupid Butthead Jared, this was all his fault. Well, it was Ms.G’s fault too, for being such a meanie. And Susan's, for being a lying brat. He hates that class.

“Ev, it's really not that bad, you've never been here before and you didn't do anything too bad anyway, so they'll take it easy on you,” Connor grinned.

Evan looked up at his friend slowly, tears still streaming down his face, “R-really?”

“Yeah, they might just call Heidi or whatever-”

“Oh no,” Evan whined, fresh tears springing in his eyes.

“No, no, Evan, it's fine, Heidi's not going to get mad, not when she hears it from you, I promise,” Connor rushes to reassure, he lets go of Evan’s hand, holding out his pinkie.

They pause their trek to the office. Evan looks down at Connor's pinkie. 

“You promise?” Evan asks warily. Connor eagerly nods his head, holding his pinkie closer to Evan's face.

Evan wraps his pinkie around Connor's, and they press their thumbs together, sealing the promise. Both boys look at each other, grinning.

Harvey coughs from behind them, making Evan jump slightly. When the boys turn to look at him he's holding out a pack of mini tissues for Evan to take.

Evan grabs a few, stuttering out a “thank you,” before wiping his face.

“Alright boys, let's get this show on the road,” Harvey says, starting his whistling back up.

Connor grabs Evan’s hand again, and continues leading them to their destination.  
___________

Upon their entrance to the office, they're greeted by the tired expression of the assistant principal, Mrs.Fletcher.

Harvey places their behavioral reports on her desks, as she motions for the children to take a seat.

“Thank you Harvey,” she says, smiling gratefully at him.

“It's no problem Miss.” He pats Connor's head softly, as per usual, and lightly pats Evan’s shoulder, “Nice to meet ya, son.”

Evan smiles up at him warily, and nods his head at Harvey’s retreating figure.

Mrs.Fletcher let's out a sigh as soon as the door closes. She looks down at the slips.

“Okay, Connor and,” her eyes widen a bit, “Evan… that's new,” she mutters, “Do you two know why you're here?”

Connor answers before Evan has a chance to speak up- though he probably wasn't going to.

“Because Ms.G hates me,” Connor deadpans.

Mrs.Fletcher shifts her focus on Connor. “Connor,” she says exasperatedly, “I've asked you to please stop saying that.”

Connor shrugs, “It's true,” he mumbles.

She runs a hand through her hair. “Okay, here's what I'll do to make this easier on all of us. I'll call you boys’ parents, let you all explain to them and me what happened, and we’ll discuss disciplinary action from there, yeah?”

Neither boy said anything as Mrs.Fletcher left the room to use the phone at the front desk in the main office.

“Don't break anything,” she called out behind her, leaving the office door open.

Connor looked over at his friend, “Ev, you're not gonna cry again, are you?”

“...No?” Was his reply, shaky and uncertain.

Connor rolled his eyes, “Ev, I promised, remember, everything's gonna be okay.”

Evan took a shuddering breath, “Y-yeah okay.”

They waited in silence for the dreaded moment of their parents arriving at the school. Connor held Evan’s hand the whole time.  
__________

After about fifteen minutes of waiting in the silent office, Connor's parents walk in. Connor's dad, Larry, looks irritated, while his mom, Cynthia, looks tired.

Immediately Larry starts scolding Connor. 

“Come on, son, I thought we talked about this, you said you would stop giving your teachers a hard time, what happened to turning it around this year?”

Once again everything was blamed on Connor. He was trying to ‘turn it around’ like everybody asked. It's Ms.G’s fault, she makes it so hard for Connor to stay calm.

“But dad, I-” Connor whined.

“I don't want to hear any excuses, young man,” Larry interjected sharply.

Mrs.Fletcher stepped in, “Now let's hold on Mr and Mrs.Murphy, Connor wasn't the only involved in this… incident,” suddenly all eyes shifted towards Evan, as if they were just now noticing his presence. He squirmed in his seat.

Mrs.Fletcher continued, “...and I've never received any reports of misconduct from Mr.Hansen before, so I'd quite like to hear the story from the boys.”

“Oh Evan, hi sweetie,” Mrs.Murphy says, sounding a bit confused. That same tone was reflected in Mr.Murphy’s, “Hello, Evan.”

Evan didn't look them in the eyes as he said, “Hi Ms.Cynthia, hi Mr.Larry.” Connor's parents had told Evan to call them by the first names a long time ago, but Evan had deemed it too ‘informal.’ This was their compromise.

“Mr and Mrs.Murphy, please take a seat. Ms.Hansen should be joining us soon,” Mrs.Fletcher spoke, taking a seat behind the desk.

Connor felt Evan’s grip on his hand tighten. He squeezed back reassuringly.

Evan’s mom, Heidi, joined them about five minutes later, looking pretty exhausted.

“Hello, Ms.Hansen,” Mrs.Fletcher greets.

“Good afternoon Mrs.Fletcher,” Heidi replies tiredly.

Mrs.Fletcher plasters on a tired smile, “You can take a seat next to Connor's parents.”

Heidi looks behind her, surprised. “Oh hello Cynthia, Larry.” They return a quiet greeting and Heidi turns to Connor and Evan.

Connor really likes Evan’s mom. She always so nice, and often asks Connor how he's doing. It doesn't even bother her when Connor comes over to their house unannounced (which is often).

“Hi, Connor, nice to see you,” she said sweetly.

“Hi Heidi,” Connor said, smiling a little.

Heidi ruffles Evan’s hair a bit, “Hey, bud.”

“Hi m-mommy,” Evan says, once again refusing to look up.

Heidi takes a seat, “Yeah, this isn't gonna be good, is it?” She asks no one in particular.

“Well, Connor and Evan were sent here by Ms.G today,” Mrs.Fletcher starts.

Cynthia sighs, “Again with Ms.G, Connor?”

Connor raises both of hands up defensively. “I can't help it, she doesn't like me!”

“Connor, don't say that, it is rude to throw around accusations such as those,” Larry said sternly.

“Everyone keeps saying that, but it's true,” Connor mutters bitterly.

Mrs.Fletcher clears her throat, “According to her report, Connor and Evan were making disrespectful gestures behind her back, and Evan-” Evan tenses up, chancing a glance at his mom, and finds that she's looking at him. He looks back down quickly. “...called their teacher a name in front of the class.”

“Evan,” Heidi said, sounding confused more so than angry, “that is very out of character for you.”

Evan hugged himself, his head down. “I- I kn-know.”

“Is that all you have to say for yourself? Evan, look at me,” Heidi said. Okay maybe now she sounded a tad bit upset.

Evan looked at his mom, tears gathering in his eyes, and some already starting to run down his face. He wiped at the falling ones hurriedly. Connor rubbed his back in way he hoped was somewhat comforting.

“B-but I- I’m not s-so- I’m n-not sorry for what I-I s-said, m-mom. S-she was be- being mean to- to Connor,” Evan stuttered through tears, managing to shock everyone in the room with his bold words again.

Mrs.Fletcher grabbed the box of tissues off her desk, and passed them to Evan, who took them whispering “thank you.”

“Connor, can you please start retelling the story while Evan calms down a bit.”

Connor nodded his head, “See it all started when Susan lied about it being her line leader turn, but it was really mine, but of course Ms.G believed Susan,” Connor said her name spitefully, almost getting angry all over again.

“A-and Ms.G h-has a line leader ch-chart so sh-she knows C-Connor n-never got a turn y-yet,” Evan chimed in, quietly.

Connor nodded eagerly, agreeing with Evan. “Exactly, and I tried to calmly tell her Susan was lying, but she wouldn't even listen.”

“A-and then sh-she said some- something rude t-to Connor,” Evan whined.

“What did she say boys?” Mrs.Fletcher questioned.

Connor piped up, “She said, ‘Connor-’” Connor started croaking mockingly before he was cut off by Larry.

“Connor,” he said with a warning tone.

Connor sighed over dramatically, and glanced at Evan. He smiled a little bit when he saw Evan chuckle lightly.

“She said something like, ‘Connor I'm tired of you being a bad person, now go to the back of the line!’ Right, Evan?”

“Al- Almost.”

“Right!” Connor nodded. “I really, really wanted to throw one of my ‘Connor Tantrums,’ but Evan showed me a less, um, angry, way to feel better,” Connor huffs, slouching down in the too big chair.

“All we did was make a few faces behind her back to make each other laugh. There's no fighting, or yelling, or throwing stuff or anything, but then Jared tattletales on me, ‘cause he's a butthead.”

This makes Evan giggle on accident, and he quickly covers his mouth with both his hands. Jared is Evan’s “friend” too, so Evan probably feels bad laughing at him.

Mrs.Fletcher sighs, “Boys, we’re supposed to be learning our lesson on name-calling.”

“Oh, right,” Connor looks directly at the assistant principal, then to the parents, “sorry,” he says, obviously insincerely. He swears he sees them all holding back a smile.

“So, Evan, what exactly did you say to Ms.Goranski?”

Evan took a deep breath. He looked at his mom. Her eyebrows were scrunched, and she held a small frown on her face. He looked away.

“W-well f-first I told her that I- I was- was making f-f-faces too, not- not j-just Connor, and she th-thought i only said that be- because Connor i- is my friend, a-and that wasn't true-”

“Evan, slow down,” Heidi said soothingly, yet commanding. Evan nodded.

"S-so I said, um, I s-said, it was because- because I didn't l-like her, be-because I think she's v-very rude,” Evan said, mumbling towards the end.

It's silent for maybe five seconds before Heidi burst out laughing. Five pairs of wide eyes turn to look at her.

She places one hand on her chest, and holds the other one up in a ‘stop’ gesture. She coughs a bit, trying to catch her breath. Connor turns to Evan to see him grinning widely, albeit confusedly.

After calming down, Heidi begins to speak. “I'm- I’m sorry, it's just-” she pauses chuckling, “I get called from work, for this, my son standing up for himself?” She asks incredulously.

“Ms.Hansen-”

“No, I mean really?! I get so many calls and notes saying ‘Evan’s too shy,’ or ‘he’s not trying to interact with his peers,’ and ‘he needs to participate more, put himself out there,’ and the one time he does- in a pretty respectful way, mind you- he's in trouble for it?”

“Look, Ms.Hansen-”

“It sounds pretty clear to me that Miss Gordon skis or whatever has it out for Connor here,” she says, gesturing to Connor, “and if the school isn't going to do jack sh- isn't going to do anything about it, I'm glad my son has the moxie to.” Heidi walks the short distance to the side of the room where Connor and Evan are sitting. She holds her hand out to Evan in a high five gesture, and Evan shyly reciprocates it, smiling.

Mrs.Fletcher places her hand on her forehead, and leans forward on the desk. “Ms-”

“And I'm proud of you too, Connor. It's good you're finding better ways to control your anger, that's a healthy step in the right direction, sir,” she gives him a high five too, one he excitedly returns.

“That- that's a good point Heidi,” Cynthia chimes in, going to stand next to Heidi. She bends down and gently places a hand on Connor's knee. “Nice job, Connor, I'm proud of you.”

Larry walks over to Connor and squats down to Connor's- or really the office chair’s- height. He ruffles his hair affectionately.

“Yeah me too, son, but maybe you can keep it on the down low next time, yeah?”

“What's a down low?” Connor asks.

Heidi chuckled, “It means don't get caught,” she stage whispered.

Mrs.Fletcher coughed, directing the attention back to her. The parents went back to their seats.

“I'm not forcing you to issue any forms of punishment at home, that's completely your call, but I am required to issue some disciplinary action according to the school guidelines. I apologize if you don't deem it as fair, but I don't have a say in the matter.”

Connor saw Heidi roll her eyes, but she didn't say anything.

“Since this is Connor's fifth reported misconduct, he is sent home early for the remainder of today, and suspended from leisurely activities for the upcoming week.”

“Guess I'm staying home today,” Cynthia mumbles.

“And since this is Evan’s first infraction, he’s sent home for the rest of the day, and is required to write an apology letter to his teacher.”

“This is the first time he's been in trouble and yet you're suspending him for half a day? That's absurd,” Heidi complains irritatedly.

“Well his actions were marked down as level red, Ms.Hansen. I'm sorry, it's school policy,” Mrs.Fletcher explains tiredly.

Heidi runs a hand through her long, blonde hair, and huffs. 

“I- I can't do that, I can't take him home, I have to go back to work, and I've got no one to watch him-”

“He can come home with me and Connor, Heidi,” Cynthia said, placing a hand on Heidi's shoulder.

Heidi smiled at her gratefully. “Are you sure you wouldn't mind?”

“Of course not, I love having Evan over.” Cynthia turns to smile at Evan. He smiles back shyly, face dusting pink.

Heidi sighed, “Thank you, Cynthia.”

Mrs.Fletcher stood up, and held the door open as she said, “Okay, that wraps this up then. Enjoy your weekends, and boys, do behave yourselves, please.”  
__________

Once they step outside into the cool fall air, all the adults start laughing at once.

Connor leaned into Evan and whispered, “Told ya so.”

Evan just grabbed Connor's hand and smiles brightly at his friend, following their parents to their cars. Connor loved when Evan holds his hand, it makes him feel warm, like he’s under his Spider-Man blanket drinking hot coco. He loves Evan’s big smiles too- Connor thinks Evan doesn't do them enough- they make his heart dance. He wishes he could feel like that all the time.

“Heidi, you'd be a monster at those PTA meetings,” Larry says, chuckling.

Cynthia nods her head in agreement, “You’d make Lacey drop her tray of terrible gluten-free cookies out of shock,” she says, laughing.

“You'd be a hero for that,” Larry jokes.

Heidi laughs, shaking her head, “Well, someone's got to tell them that we have better things to do than deal with a teacher whose feelings got hurt.”

Connor smiled at Heidi's words. Evan’s mom was so cool, he wished they could share her sometimes.

They all stopped by Cynthia’s car to say their goodbyes.

Heidi kissed Evan on the cheek, “I’ll see you a little later, kiddo.”

“Bye, mommy.”

Heidi gave Connor a hug, “It's always nice seeing you, Connor. You kids be good, okay?” She looked at both of them in the eyes sternly.

Evan nodded eagerly while Connor all but shouted a, “Yes ma'am.”

“Good.” She waved once more before getting in her car, and pulling off.

“Alright, I've got to head back to the office,” Larry said. He kissed Cynthia on the cheek- at which Connor stuck out his tongue in mock disgust- and gave Connor and Evan pats on their shoulders before walking off to his own car.

Cynthia ushers the boys into the back seat, and takes her place at the wheel.

“You boys got lucky, got a half day today.”

“Wohoo,” Connor shouted, throwing both hands up in the air. This elicited a giggle from Evan. Wanting to hear it again, Connor used a tactic he knew would work.

“Hey, Evan,” Connor whispered, “Jared is a butthead.”

As expected, Evan giggled loudly. Cynthia just shook her head softly, turning on the radio as she started the drive home, letting them have their fun.

Connor just kept whispering random, childish insults to Evan, making him giggle and laugh each time. This was yet another thing Connor wished he could hear all the time.

That's when it hit him. Connor knew exactly how he was going to get all of his wishes to come true.

It was in second grade when Connor decided that he was going to marry Evan Hansen.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
